The initiative is a way for the company to make the transition into a community-practice model of pharmacy in the retail setting, Hansen said. The new model would give pharmacists a chance to counsel patients more often and offer vaccinations if regulations permit.

The initiative includes elements such as Central Fill, which is a central location where maintenance medications are filled. POWER also includes a call center where pharmacists will answer questions from patients. “Patients will still be speaking to pharmacists, but maybe not the one they’re working with,” Hansen said. The goal of the program is to relieve in-store pharmacists of certain tasks in order to give them more time to offer medication therapy management services.

At present, many customers come and go without asking questions, or without taking the time for in-depth counseling. Hansen believes that will change. “Not every patient has a question or needs counseling every time they come into the pharmacy,” she said. “But patients view pharmacists as one of the most accessible healthcare providers, and this will help patients feel that we are there for them when they need us. We do also want to help make healthcare affordable to our patients, and we feel that this model will tap into that and free up their time.”

With restructuring comes the “reallocating of resources,” Hansen said. Walgreens will not specify the number of dollars saved or the number of jobs for pharmacy technicians or pharmacists that might be eliminated. “But of course there is some natural attrition,” she said.

After POWER is active in Florida, Walgreens plans to begin implementation in Arizona, said spokesman Robert Elfinger.